LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson releases fall roster

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson on Wednesday released the Tigers’ fall semester roster that includes the 20 members of the incoming recruiting class who have joined the program for the 2026 season.

The signing class is composed of eight NCAA Division I transfers, one NCAA Division II transfer, two JUCO transfers and nine high school signees. Five LSU rookies have been ranked among the Prep Baseball Report Top 100 College Freshmen, and another six of the Tigers’ newcomers appear on the Baseball America list of the Top 100 College Transfers.

Johnson, the 2023 and 2025 National Coach of the Year who has directed LSU to two National Championships and 150 wins over the past three seasons, said the Tigers’ staff is focused upon building another elite squad capable of making a return to the College World Series.

“We’re excited to dive into the work,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a lot to do, and our staff is looking forward to running our process this fall to get our players prepared with teaching and fundamentals.

“We have a really good foundation of players back from our 2025 championship team, and they know what it means to operate at the highest possible level. Our class of newcomers can certainly make immediate contributions, and it can be the foundation of what we’re going to accomplish over the next few years.”

The Tigers feature seven returning position players with starting experience at LSU, including senior outfielder Chris Stanfield, senior infielder Tanner Reaves, junior shortstop Steven Milam, junior outfielder Jake Brown, sophomore outfielder Derek Curiel, sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide and sophomore infielder John Pearson.

The pitching staff contains 10 hurlers who have recorded innings at LSU, including senior right-hander Zac Cowan, senior right-hander Connor Benge, senior right-hander Grant Fontenot, junior right-hander Gavin Guidry, junior right-hander Jaden Noot, junior left-hander DJ Primeaux, sophomore right-hander Casan Evans, sophomore left-hander Cooper Williams, sophomore right-hander Mavrick Rizy and sophomore right-hander William Schmidt.

The Tigers will engage in individual drills and strength training for the next six weeks prior to beginning their full-squad fall practice period on Thursday, October 9. The fall session will feature several intra-squad scrimmages through October and November in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

Johnson said LSU will also play two exhibition games this fall against other schools. The Tigers meet Samford on Sunday, November 2, at Keesler Federal Park in Biloxi, Miss., the home of the Milwaukee Brewers’ Double-A affiliate, the Biloxi Shuckers. LSU will face Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday, November 9 at Alumni Field in Hammond, La.

More information about the fall exhibition games will be announced in the coming weeks.

Listed below are the members of LSU’s 2025 signing class:

• 39 Jonah Aase, LHP, Fr. – Ferndale, Wash. (Meridian HS)
• 18 Mason Braun, OF/1B, Fr. – South Bend, Ind. (Penn HS)
• 44 Trent Caraway, INF, Jr. -Dana Point, Calif. (JSerra Catholic HS/Oregon State)
• 16 Ethan Clauss, INF, Fr. – Las Vegas, Nev. (Palo Verde HS)
• 24 Seth Dardar, INF, RS-Sr. – Mandeville, La. (Holy Cross HS/Kansas State)
•  30 Dax Dathe, RHP, RS-Sr. – Round Rock, Texas (Stoney Point HS/Angelo State)
• 34 Santiago Garcia, LHP, Jr. – Las Cruces, N.M. (Centennial HS/Oregon)
• 14 Daniel Harden, OF, Jr. – Prairieville, La. (Catholic HS/McLennan CC)
• 28 Danny Lachenmeyer, LHP, So. – Eagan, Minn. (Eagan HS/North Dakota State)
• 22 Cooper Moore, RHP, Jr. – Bixby, Okla. (Bixby HS/Kansas)
• 23 William Patrick, OF, Fr. – Monroe, La. (St. Frederick HS)
• 97 Marcos Paz, RHP, Fr. – Carrollton, Texas (Hebron HS)
• 38 Ethan Plog, LHP, So. – Green Bay, Wisc. (Bay Port HS/Iowa Western CC)
• 35 Reagan Ricken, RHP, Fr. – Temecula, Calif. (Great Oak HS)
• 32 Jack Ruckert, INF, Fr. – Baton Rouge, La. (Catholic HS)
• 25 Omar Serna Jr., C, Fr. – Houston, Texas (Lutheran South Academy)
• 10 Brayden Simpson, INF, Sr. – Moseley, Va. (Cosby HS/High Point)
• 50 Ryler Smart, LHP, RS-Fr. – Pearland, Texas (Pearland HS/Tennessee)
• 52 Zion Theophilus, RHP, Fr. – Cincinnati, Ohio (Moeller HS)
• 33 Zach Yorke, INF, Sr. – Campbell, Calif. (Mountain Ridge HS/Grand Canyon)